Hello all,
I had a horrible incident where my x-type made a really loud grinding sound coming up a small hill. as i tried steppin on the gas to go forward, the car felt as if the wheel fell off. i then turned the car off and back on and i was able to drive the car at 10-15 miles/hr. if i drove faster, the grinding would get louder. I managed to get it home and i disassembled the transfer case. saw all the gears all grinded up. because the price of a new transfer case is so high, i tried installing the x-fer case back without the gear that turns the rear shaft. My idea was to try to run the car as a front wheel drive car. now my question is is this possible and if the car is in park, and the wheels front wheels are free as if the car is in neutral. could this be a transmission problem.
*p.s. the i was able to reverse the car into the parking lot and the wheels were turning when i put the car on jack stands before i took the x-case out and put it back.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

The front wheels will turn because of the front diff, but if you try to turn them both the same way, they'll lock when they're in park. On jack stands and in park, if you turn one wheel forward, the other will go backwards. If they both go the same way, you have a problem.

 

thanks for the reply disguay, my wheels are as they are in neutral when in "PARK". the wheels can be turned by hand in any gear but they do not turn the way they are supposed to like i can turn them forward when in reverse and turned reverse in all drive gears. Is this a sign of a bad transmission. the weird thing is all was good before i pulled the x-fer case except for the grinding sound.

 

Torque transfer is 30:70 where most is designed to go to rear axle. With the rear disconnected all will go to front which it's not designed for. You will damage the remaining components if you drive.

 

I salute you, Sir!

Not many people would simply remove and not replace a broken part. You own the spirit of "Yankee Ingenuity".

I am impressed. Really!

 

tonyx, I don't think he'll actually damage it because when the front and back wheels are going to same speed, the viscous coupling doesn't engage in the case therefore our cars are 2wd cars until they need awd and then they adapt and become awd. With that being said, I have seen another member on here who made their car fwd and removed the rear driveshaft and everything. He used a simple spacer to do it and he says he love it now. It's been done and has been proven to work, so if you take the chance, you will probably have a 2wd xtype!

 

Unfortunately x-type connects front axle through a viscous coupler. VC will not sustain all the torque to drive a car day in day out. At minimum the VC will damage and I predict the front drive components in the transfer case will go, liked the bearings.

If the VC connection was for the rear axle, like the Volvos, you can simply disconnect the driveshaft and make it into full time FWD. Not with our x-types.

 

hey fellas,
thanks for the feedback. with all this great info on the transfer case and vc and what not, can anyone help me with why the wheels are free as in neutral in all gears as if the wheel can not be lock. i can rotate them in reverse when there are in drive and vice versa. and the wheels are do not lock up in park. i know if i turn one side one way, the opposite wheel should turn the other but im hoping i didnt damage my transmission.

 

if they're all turning the same way I'd say you stripped your TC....

 

is it possible theres no transmission fluid in the torque converter. because i did run the car with the axle off and seen tranny fluid all over. im thinkin all the fluid was pushed out.

thanks again for all the replies

 

put tranny fluid in it and try. The xtype auto transmissions are VERRRRRRRY picky about having the right amount of fluid in them and will get very finicky if they don't have enough

 

so i put in the tranny fluid but the wheels are not turning at all. only when i turn it by hand. i understand if i turn the left wheel, the right wheel turns the opposite but im not sure why the wheels seem like they're in neutral. could the computer have something to do with this?

 

Computer could have something to do with it, but I wouldn't point towards that as your sole problem.

The first thing to check is your tranny fluid. Is your tranny fluid burnt or black? If it is, then you have could have easily blown your tranny and torque converter. I had a similar problem on my jeep cherokee and it ended up that the transmission and torque converter were are toast.

 

the tranny fluid seems fine and no burnt smell. still fresh. im trying to understand how the torque converter would free up the wheels. and there is no grinding sound what so ever. im familiar with bad trannies and im tryin to find the reason to the wheels always being free. can a bad transmission just free up the wheels. shifting doesnt make any grinding sounds. is there a way to see if transmission is turning without taking it off the car?

 

I really think you're going to have to start disecting your car to figure this out. Either that, or tow it to a shop really quick, pay them $100 cash for them to tell you if there is an easy fix. To me, I would check linkage first, if it feels like it's shifting, then I would point all fingers at either the internal linkage in the tranny or the tranny itself. To me, it kind of sounds like your internal shift linkage broke and your car is stuck in neutral. If you shift and it feels much different on the shifter, I would look into that.

 

thanks for all the help. i really dont have the money to take it to the shop. i never encountered an issue like this and i definitely rather try to work this out. if there is anyone else with a similar incident, please send them my way so i can bounce ideas off them.